Out of curiousity I just spent the last 45 minutes searching around on Technorati to see what motorcycle blogs I could find. Gradually I narrowed my search down to the key words “motorcycle touring Colorado,” because that is what this site is all about. What I found is amazing, and distressing as well. In the first 10 pages of results, 100 results, I found five actual blog posts and all the rest were blogspam. And of those five, three were finally found on the 10th page.

Which leads me to the question, how in the world did you find me here? Seriously, if you’re reading this I would very much appreciate your replying and answering that question for me. With 95 percent of “blog” posting that show up on Technorati being spam, it makes searching in the blogosphere nearly useless.

I got an email from Randy Ohno with a link to his photo blog. His trip this summer, the most current photos on the blog, took him through nine western US states as well as Alberta and British Columbia. Randy lives in BC and has done a lot of riding in the northwestern US and western Canada and his photo blog shows a lot of where he’s been. You may want to check it out at
http://honda599.myphotoalbum.com/albums.php.

It was Randy who wrote asking the question about how he should expect his bike to run at high altitude, which I addressed in this weblog posting. Here’s his report on his experience:

Colorado and the Durango, Aspen area was impressive with its high mountain passes. I managed to make it through Independence Pass and found my bike worked well, but like my breathing laboured slightly at idle.

So thanks for touching back in Randy. And thanks for the look at your photos.

We had a family gathering recently at a beautiful spot and I figured if you’re coming to Colorado on vacation you might want to know about this place. Or you may live in Colorado as we do and you’re interested in a new getaway spot. The place is Columbine.

So where the heck is Columbine? Near Steamboat Springs is the short answer. More specifically, you take Elk River Road (County Road 129) north from the west end of Steamboat and wind through some gorgeous country up through Clark to the Hahn’s Peak area. It’s good pavement all the way to the little town of Columbine, where the pavement ends. If you keep going you’ll come out at Savery, WY.

There’s not much at Columbine, which is a good thing. What there is is a little store and a bunch of cabins and you can rent one or all of the cabins depending on the size of your group. They range from primitive, with toilets over there to modern with kitchens, bathrooms, and everything else. Except televisions, which is a good thing, too. Here’s their website so you can check the place out.

There’s a lot to do around Columbine. Two state parks are just minutes away, Steamboat Lake State Park and Pearl Lake State Park, and you can hike to the top of Hahn’s Peak. Or you can ride 30 minutes in and hit Steamboat Springs for dinner and whatever else you fancy. Just be on the look-out for deer as you make the evening ride back to Columbine.

For what it’s worth, this is a totally unsolicited, unpaid recommendation. We liked the place and I think you will, too.

Tomorrow is the day. The Old Farts Motorcycle Club is going to the Sturgis rally this year and we leave tomorrow. There will be eight of us going this year. This includes the three stalwarts, John, Bill, and Ken; four who have joined us over the years, Friggs, Dennis, Johnathon, and Jason; and one newbie, Brett.

We’ll be heading out Friday afternoon and riding to Guernsey, WY, where we’ll spend the first night. Saturday it’s on to stake claim to our accommodations in Rapid City, where we’ll spend three nights. During that time we’ll be running over to Sturgis, up to Deadwood, and generally cruising the terrific roads of the Black Hills.

Next we’ll head west, with a stop for the night in Gillette. Then on to Saratoga to our favorite lodging there, the Sage and Sand Motel. After one night in Saratoga Johnathon, Jason, and Brett will head back to Denver while the rest of us take a loop trip through the Snowy Range and spend a second night in Saratoga.

Leaving Saratoga we’ll cruise the short distance to Craig, CO, where we have a tee-time set for a bit of golf. No, we don’t carry our clubs with us, that’s what rentals are for. Then on home the next day.

We don’t normally plan out our summer trip with reservations all along the way but this year, traveling in the vicinity of the rally during actual rally week we figured it would be wise. We didn’t used to make any plans, other than the destination for our first day. Then we’d just follow our noses and see where we ended up. Those days are gone, though–that’s part of what the OF part of OFMC is all about.

Look for details on this trip in about 10 days. Sturgis, here we come.

If you’re thinking of riding in the Deckers area you need to be aware that CO 67 south of Deckers to Woodland Park has been closed and will remain closed for several months. This is an area that was hit hard by forest fires a couple years ago, so when we had heavy rains a couple weeks ago the denuded hillsides just slid. The road was totally washed out in several places and will need to be completely rebuilt.

You can still get to Deckers, however–just not from the south. You can come in on CO 67 from Sedalia or along CO 126 from Pine Junction. As a day ride from Denver that loop is not a bad ride at all.

I’ll put up another posting once the road reopens.

A rider coming to Winter Park, CO, from Louisiana asked a question about routes. Here is the answer I gave him. He will be coming into Colorado over Raton Pass.

Unless you need to make time, get off the interstate as soon as you can. You could get off at Trinidad and loop over Cuchara Pass, then go west on US 160 over La Veta Pass, swing up past the Great Sand Dunes National Monument, and then head north to Poncha Springs and Buena Vista. From Buena Vista you could either go to Fairplay and over Hoosier Pass or go through Leadville and over Fremont Pass, either way reaching I-70. Then go east on I-70 to where US 40 branches off and goes over Berthoud Pass and down into Winter Park.

If you want to get there more directly but still have time to get off the interstate a bit, leave I-25 at Colorado Springs and go up US 24 to South Park over Wilkerson Pass, then head toward Buena Vista and follow the previous directions.

Once you reach Winter Park there are all sorts of possibilities. Take a look at www.motorcyclecolorado.com for all sorts of options.

I had been tentative all along but always felt it would work out. But it didn’t. Today is the first day of the ADVRider West Fest 2006, a three day bike rally in Buena Vista. And I’m not there. And though I still hope I might make it there for at least part of a day it’s not looking good.

I’m bummed. There are several other rallies I’m hoping to make it to this summer but this is the only camping motorcycle rally I know of and there are hundreds of people coming from all over. I wanted to be one of them. Rats. I hope you guys all have a great time. Send me some photos, OK?

We just got back from a week’s vacation and of course it was a working vacation. As soon as possible I’ll be adding a lot of new information to the website, filling in a few of the blanks. I’ve got new info and pictures on Unaweep Canyon, Lizard Head Pass, and Cuchara Pass. And I’ll be adding info on a number of additional motorcycle-friendly campgrounds. Also have a few eateries to list as recommended and one or two motels. Anyone who wants to recommend (or pan) restaurants and motels/hotels just send the information along. The whole idea with www.motorcyclecolorado.com is to provide useful information for others around Colorado.

I got an email recently from someone in Vancouver, B.C., asking about how a bike runs in Colorado, particularly in places such as Mt. Evans, when they’re tuned for lower altitudes. It strikes me that that’s a question a lot of people planning to come here might have so I figured I would reprint here the reply I sent him. Here it is.

With the understanding that my bikes are tuned for the altitude in Denver (5,000 feet, more or less) I’m happy to say that I’ve never had any problems. They start, run, and act just like they do in the city. Also, I had a note from a guy who lives in Atlanta who came out to Colorado and he went to the top of Mt. Evans and didn’t have any problem either. I’ve been all over the state and seen people from many states stopping to enjoy the view at the top of passes and I’ve never seen anyone having trouble starting their bike or had anyone mention anything about a problem. Hopefully that means you won’t have anything to worry about.

So that’s what I told him. If any of you have had bad experiences please write and let me know about them and how you handled the problem. Thanks.

Reading the May issue of Cycle World magazine I came across a column by Peter Egan where he talks about how the best two days of boat ownership are the day you buy it and the day you sell it. He goes on to talk about a conversation he and his buddies had about why motorcycles are better than just about anything you could name. The list includes items such as “When the engine stops, you can pull over and put your foot down, instead of doing a dead-stick landing in a cornfield. Or getting towed to port.” Another is “During a big storm, you don’t have to lie awake at night and picture your motorcycle bashing itself to pieces on some rocks.” You get the picture.

I totally identify with what he’s talking about. In fact, that’s exactly how I came to buy my first motorcycle, back in 1987. I had been flying a hang glider but there were way too many days when I’d get up early, load the glider on the car, and drive a couple hours to the flying site, then set it up and haul it up to launch, only to sit there all day and never get good flying conditions. Then after sitting all day I’d break it down, load it back on the car, drive home, and the whole day was shot for nothing.

Finally I decided I would sell my hang glider and use the money to buy a motorcycle, because at least with a motorcycle, when I threw my leg over the bike I’d be doing what I came to do, right now. That was one of the best decisions of my life. And I still have that bike.